Aurora Borealis
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Famous Scientist
While the aurora is a very famous sight that many people love to view and research, there are very few notable people who studied these glorious lights. One of these people is Kristian Birkeland. Known as “The King of the Northern Lights” he was one of the first to be acknowledged for his works. He was born in 1876 in what is now present day Oslo,
Norway. However, he died decades before his work was recognized. Despite this his works were a great help to the research that we now all know to be common knowledge about the “Northern Lights.” Sadly he died on June 15, 1917. However, he will forever have advanced the research methods that are now used to study the auroras and always be remembered as The “King of the Northern Lights”. |
Career
While the study of the aurora is classified as earth science, you'd think that the people who studied them would be called earth scientists. However, this is not the case. People who study the aurora borealis are called either an auroral physicist, or a space weather scientist. The term “space weather” comes from the concept of how auroras are formed by solar winds, and they appear as a type of weather. The solar winds play the role of “space”, and the fact that they're a type of weather phenomenon brings the “weather” part of the term together in the true definition of what a space weather scientist is. Although the name and its definition may sound hard to understand, it's actually a very simple low profile job that can be obtained by 8-12 years of higher education in colleges and universities. And the average pay of auroral physicists is 95,000-160,000 dollars per year.
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Concept & Application
As said in the career paragraph, the aurora falls under the umbrella of Earth science, but is a type of space phenomenon due to the fact that they are caused by solar winds. Therefore, the reasoning behind studying them is so that we can better understand space weather. While this may not seem important to Earth, it is a highly troubling concept that sometimes interferes with space travel and the exploration of space. Solar winds, which cause the auroras, are one of these troublesome concepts of space weather that we still haven't been able to fully understand, to the point that we can prevent them from having an effect on our exploration.
Through the study of the aurora borealis, we could be able to deduce the speed of the winds, their direction, and even how we could equip our ships with ways to fight against the winds and keep on course without interference. If this could be understood, it would be revolutionary for not only space exploration, but Earth science, in the sense of being able to understand how this phenomenon can even play a role in something such as space weather. We also study the auroras for the reason of better understanding the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that acts as a shield around the Earth and deflects solar winds and radiation from burning the Earth and everything on it.
The magnetosphere, as said before, is the outer shield that protects the Earth from solar winds and radiation. The aurora borealis is the result of solar winds being deflected off of the magnetosphere and basically drifting across it until they dissipate out of sight. Viewing this as a way to study solar winds, and the magnetosphere's unique ability to deflect solar winds from our planet, gives scientists a way to understand both Earth and beyond through one beautiful and unique phenomenon that happens automatically through the great design that God has laid out for our planet.
Through the study of the aurora borealis, we could be able to deduce the speed of the winds, their direction, and even how we could equip our ships with ways to fight against the winds and keep on course without interference. If this could be understood, it would be revolutionary for not only space exploration, but Earth science, in the sense of being able to understand how this phenomenon can even play a role in something such as space weather. We also study the auroras for the reason of better understanding the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that acts as a shield around the Earth and deflects solar winds and radiation from burning the Earth and everything on it.
The magnetosphere, as said before, is the outer shield that protects the Earth from solar winds and radiation. The aurora borealis is the result of solar winds being deflected off of the magnetosphere and basically drifting across it until they dissipate out of sight. Viewing this as a way to study solar winds, and the magnetosphere's unique ability to deflect solar winds from our planet, gives scientists a way to understand both Earth and beyond through one beautiful and unique phenomenon that happens automatically through the great design that God has laid out for our planet.
